The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced the second round of awards from California’s innovative Multifamily Finance Super NOFA (MFSN), designed to spur much-needed housing development by reducing administrative barriers. This year’s awards, totaling nearly $523.8 million, support 51 projects that will include 4,018 homes and infrastructure improvements needed to support infill development.

“We need to build more housing, faster," said Governor Gavin Newsom. "The state is doing its part – investing to create 4,000 new affordable homes, cutting red tape, and holding cities and counties accountable. Addressing California's housing shortfall must continue to be a top priority – for all of us, state and local governments alike.”

The MFSN program allows developers to apply to four separate funding programs through a single application, saving builders time and money. These include the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP); Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention (VHHP) Program; Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant (FWHG) Program; and Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019 (IIG-2019). The programs provide loans for new construction and rehabilitation of multifamily developments, as well as infrastructure grants for capital improvements needed to allow for infill development.

“Planning for an additional 2.5 million new homes by 2030 is an ambitious goal, but it is critical to addressing California’s need for housing at all income levels,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “The state can help make this target attainable by creating policies and programs like this—that break down barriers, save time, and reduce costs—to encourage developers to build in California.”

“A crisis of homelessness decades in the making can only be addressed if we create efficiencies to build more affordable housing faster,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “The Multifamily Finance Super NOFA is a prime example of government working to be nimble, and breaking down silos separating funding programs so developers do not have to jump through so many hoops to house Californians in need of stability.”

The MFSN process creates opportunity for projects that serve many types of households – such as farmworkers, veterans, and people experiencing homelessness – and that meet multiple state goals, such as reducing vehicle miles traveled. Of the 4,018 homes in this year’s MFSN-awarded projects, 3,947 will be restricted to those earning 80% of Area Median Income or below. This includes 723 permanent supportive homes, 805 homes with 3-4 bedrooms for families, and 696 homes for seniors.

With a NOFA of $576 million and applications for $3.56 billion, MFSN as a whole was oversubscribed by a rate of six to one. However, eligible applications for VHHP and the statutorily required IIG Adaptive Reuse set-aside were undersubscribed, and the $52.2 million remaining from those two programs is anticipated to be made available in a future MFSN round.

The homes funded by today’s awards are anticipated to house more than 70,000 Californians over the life of the projects’ 55-year affordability covenants. For a complete list of awards, visit the Multifamily Finance Super NOFA webpage.